Week 7

How can you create a relational trust in an educational setting?

     One thing the I've learned is that true, effective, learning happens when there is a level of trust between the students and the teacher. The students have to trust in their teacher that what they are teaching is worth learning and not a waste of time. On the other hand, the teacher needs to be able to trust that their students are listening and learning from them and that they are not wasting their time preparing for the lessons. When there is no trust that goes both ways, then there is less effective learning, the students will not take the class seriously enough to pay attention and the teacher will spend less effort is preparation and presentation.

     But this trust is not something that happens overnight. Like every relationship it takes time and effort as well as earning each other's respect. In the educational level, this relationship starts with the teacher. By tradition and state law, the teacher is given a lot of freedom to operate their classes as they see fit. Some will turn their class into a teacher-centered model in which the learning flows from the teacher to the students, while others will turn them into a cooperative learning environment in which the students share in the responsibility of learning. Whichever model is chosen however, the teacher always have to make sure clear boundaries are set limiting the relationship to the goal of learning the subject at hand. This too is the responsibility of the teacher (as the adult in the room) so that no boundaries are crossed. This may make the relationship between teacher and student never as intimate as those of friends, but that is the point. Students have plenty of opportunities for making friends, but in the classroom, it has to be made clear that the teacher is there to teach, not hang out.